Rocky and Bullwinkle (Western Animation) - TV Tropes Rocky and Bullwinkle You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share Western Animation / Rocky and Bullwinkle × "Hey tropers, watch me pull a squirrel out of my hat!" "Again?? But that trick never works!" "A thunder of jets and an open sky, A streak of gray and a cheerful "Hi!" A loop, a whirl, a vertical climb And once again you know it's time For the adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends!" — The altered season two opening narration of Rocky and His Friends This cult cartoon series, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, ran on ABC Saturday evenings as Rocky and His Friends from 1959 to 1961. It featured the serialized adventures of Rocky (voiced by June Foray ), a flying squirrel who wore flight goggles, and Bullwinkle (Bill Scott), a dimwitted moose. Their primary foes were Boris Badenov (Paul Frees) and Natasha Fatale ( June Foray again), a pair of Slavic spies from the imaginary Soviet satellite of Pottsylvania.

In 1961, the series moved to NBC and became The Bullwinkle Show; it ran under that title until 1964. Both series have since been seen in syndication and on cable TV and the title changed to The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Bullwinkle also appeared in two other segments: Bullwinkle's Corner, in which he gave poetry readings that usually degenerated into chaos, and Mr. Know-It-All, in which his attempts to offer "how-to" advice on a variety of topics often met with similar disaster. Supporting segments were Dudley Do-Right , Peabody's Improbable History, Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop and Son. William Conrad was the Narrator in the main Rocky and Bullwinkle segments, and Edward Everett Horton performed that function in Fractured Fairy Tales. It continued on with Rocky and Bullwinkle comics through the 80s.

In 2000, Universal released The Film of the Series produced in live action, apart from a CGI moose and squirrel voiced by Keith Scott and June Foray, and hand-drawn opening and ending sequences mimicking the style of the 1950's cartoon. Jason Alexander and Rene Russo played Boris and Natasha. Robert De Niro , a fan of the show from his youth, not only played Fearless Leader, but was also one of the film's producers. In 1992, there was a made-for-cable movie Boris and Natasha about the bad guy couple . Rocky and Bullwinkle were human in this film ("Agents Moose and Squirrel, genetically altered once again"), with a post-Cold War theme. Sally Kellerman, like DeNiro in the later film, was a fan of the show and co-produced it, playing Natasha. A feature film adaptation of Peabody's Improbable History as Mr. Peabody & Sherman , was released on March 7, 2014 which then spunoff into a TV series The New Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show on October 9, 2015.

A "making of" special, called Of Moose and Men: The Rocky and Bullwinkle Story was aired in 1991 on PBS . "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a trope out of my hat!": Absentee Actor : The Buried Treasure storyline is the only one in which Boris appears but Natasha doesn't. Additionally, neither Boris nor Natasha appear in the storylines "The Three Moosekateers", "Much Mud", and "The Ruby Yact of Omar Kayam". Mr. Peabody's entire outfit was Opaque Nerd Glasses and a bow tie . Accidental Athlete : Bullwinkle in the "Wossamotta U" arc. Affectionate Parody : The Fractured Fairy Tales segment parodies a book called "Famous Fairy Tales", which had a collection of fairy tales gathered together. Each segment took at least the title of one of these stories, then twisted it around. The All-American Boy : Rocky is an all-American boy in the form of a squirrel. Always Gets His Man : Dudley Do Right is an Affectionate Parody of this. As is the Peabody episode where the mountie can't take in his target because she's a woman.

Anachronism Stew : The Peabody and Sherman segments are full of this. Mr. Peabody's modifications to the WABAC contaminate the past with anachronisms and cause the historical figures to become ignorant, now he and Sherman must undo their mistake and save the timeline. Animation Bump : Certain segments were animated entirely in America, and looked far better than what was sent to Mexico. The majority of these sequences were animated by Gerard Baldwin. Anti-Advice : When some island natives lose their weather-predicting Oogle bird egg, they employ Captain Wrongway Peachfuzz in its place—and simply expect the opposite of his predictions. Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking : Boris' alias "Babyface Braunschweiger" is a notorious forger, thief, bank robber, gunman, and litterbug. Art Evolution : Several of the characters looked a bit different in the beginning, but the one who has gone through the most recognizable changes is Fearless Leader. In his first appearance, he was thin with a trenchcoat, sunglasses, and a hat like Boris'. His next few appearances depicted him fat, in a uniform, no hat and no sunglasses.

When Rocky and Bullwinkle arrived in Pottsylvania, Fearless Leader was slimmed down a little. And finally, when Boris meets up with him in person, Fearless Leader looks as he does today: skinny, given a hat, a differently shaped head, a scar on his face and a monocle. Alternatively, Pottsylvania goes through a lot of Fearless Leaders. Artistic License ï¿½ History : A lot of people forget that Beethoven was deaf. This is misrepresented in a Peabody and Sherman segment. Ascended Extra : Natasha. The first few episodes present Boris as the main villain and only occasionally show Natasha as a flunky. Before the first serial is over, she has become his partner in crime. Ascended Fanboy : DeNiro, who not only played Fearless Leader but produced the 2000 film. Keith Scott as well, having gotten to hang out with the cast and crew of the original series before sadly replacing most of their voices once they'd died. As Long as It Sounds Foreign : This was exactly Jay Ward's attitude towards Boris and Natasha.

When June Foray first asked Ward what accent he wanted her to do for Natasha, he suggested anything but Russian (as this was during the Cold War, and he didn't want to risk offending Russia). Bad Boss : Fearless Leader always threatens to shoot his men. Only rarely that he actually does it. In Missouri Mish Mash, he even sent one of his men to be executed after he tells Fearless Leader that Boris is the only available Pottsylvanian spy in Minnesota. Boris and Natasha in "The Last Angry Moose" story get away with stealing Bullwinkle's savings without getting caught. It's not a total loss for Bullwinkle, though, since he gains a lot of money from the success of his movie. Boris frequently bests Bullwinkle in the Mr. Know-It-All segments. Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad : Boris takes any insult as a compliment and can't stand anything nice. One time when he was out cold, Natasha did CPR while saying "Out goes the good air; In comes the bad". In one "Bullwinkle's Corner" Boris subverted Teresa Piercey-Gates by changing "Do something for somebody quick" to "Do something TO somebody quick." Boris: What Luck!

Someone down there likes me! Big Guy, Little Guy : Bullwinkle and Rocky respectively. Big Shadow, Little Creature : Mr. Big was revealed to be this towards the end of Upsidaisium. Big "SHUT UP!" : Boris to Natasha whenever his latest fiendish plan fails. Played with in one episode, when Natasha tells Boris to shut up his mouth as they fall off a cliff. And in another episode, Boris tells Natasha that the next time he has such a plan she should "shut up my mouth!" Bigger on the Inside : The interior of Rocky and Bullwinkle's home appears fairly roomy, yet the exterior dimensions barely exceed those of an outhouse. Birthmark of Destiny : Bullwinkle has one of these on on the bottom of his foot/hoof. It's subverted at the end when it turns out that it's actually the design on his bathroom floor mat, imprinted when he stepped out of the tub. Then Double Subverted , as, well after the birthmark's significance has waned, Bullwinkle notes that same design on his other foot never comes off.

Bold Explorer : The Peabody's Improbable History segments featured visits to see many bold explorers, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Marco Polo, Juan Ponce de Leon, Balboa, Columbus and Magellan. Many of them turned out to be not-so-bold in person, and needed a kick in the pants from Peabody and Sherman. The Bore : One of the Fractured Fairy Tales was about Leaping Beauty, a beautiful girl who leaps about spreading joy and cheer, until she runs afoul of a witch, who curses her to become a bore, after which she literally puts the entire kingdom to sleep with her incessant prattling. Breaking the Fourth Wall : Breaking? This show pulverized it! Breakout Character : Bullwinkle became so popular on Rocky and His Friends that the show was renamed The Bullwinkle Show on its third season. Dudley Do-Right was the only one of the show's supporting segments to get its own show. However, no new stories were made for it. Call Back : In the Bumbling Brothers Circus story, Boris wears one of his disguises from the Upsidaisium story. Rocky mentions that they've met in one of their previous adventures. In a Mr.

Know-It-All segment about magic, Bullwinkle is about to demonstrate pulling a rabbit out of his hat. Rocky remarks that this looks familiar. Bullwinkle proceeds to do his act and pulls himself out this time. Card-Carrying Villain : Everyone from Pottsylvania is depicted as this. They even have a national anthem that boasts how evil they are. Hail, Pottsylvania! Hail to the Black and the Blue! Hail, Pottsylvania, sneaky and crooked through and through...DOWN with the Good Guys, UP with the Boss: Under the sign of the Triple Cross (HAIL!)...Hail, Pottsylvania...Hail, Hail, HAIL!!! Catchphrase : Rocky's "Again?" (which is a lot funnier if you say it in a Rocket J. Squirrel voice), usually his response to the Narrator , or to Bullwinkle's "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" Also, "Hokey Smokes," (Rocky) and "Dahlink". (Natasha) Also "Sharrup you mouth!", "Allow me to introduce myself", "Hoo-boy!", " Raskolnikov!

", and "Kill moose and squirrel" and variants thereof from Boris. "Allow me to introduce myself..." Boris in his latest Paper-Thin Disguise . "Now, there's something you don't see every day, Chauncey." "What's that, Edgar?" Any random pair of bystanders are named Chauncey and Edgar. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome : After his brief appearance in the Banana Formula arc at the end of the fourth season, Captain Peachfuzz is never seen again. Circus Episode : The "Bumbling Bros. Circus" arc involves Bullwinkle becoming the Bumbling Brothers' new lion tamer after his is able to soothe a savage lion with his hum-a-comb (blowing through his comb through a handkerchief), but is also able to entertain the other animals with it as well. At the same time, Boris was fired from being the circus' lion tamer, so he makes continuous efforts to sabotage the circus as revenge.

City of Spies : In the Jet Fuel Formula story arc, Pottslyvania is depicted as a country of spies where everything is secret: All phone numbers are unlisted resulting in blank phone books, and newspapers have nothing but advertisements since all news is too secret to print. The ice cream man also hawks classified documents. Cliffhanger Copout : Happened all the time, but let's face it, any continuity in these cartoons was purely by accident . Comic-Book Adaptation : Gold Key put out Bullwinkle comic books from 1962 to 1980, long after the show was cancelled. It was briefly revived in 1987-89 under Marvel Comics . There was also a newspaper comic strip drawn by Al Kilgore from 1962 to 1965. Even MORE recently, in 2013, IDW picked up the rights to Rocky and Bullwinkle (along with Peabody and Sherman due to the film by Dreamworks. ) The first issues were written by Mark Evanier and Rodger Langridge, along with reprints of the Gold Key series.

Competition Coupon Madness : Boris and Natasha produce counterfeit box tops to get all the prizes and undermine the world's economy. Conspicuous Trenchcoat : Even more amusing in retrospect... Contrived Coincidence : Like everything else, used liberally and mocked ruthlessly. When something ludicrously coincidental saves or helps our heroes the show (and later the movie) they always make sure to point out how ridiculous this is, either by having the narrator or characters lampshade it or by having the coincidence itself be so absurd that there's no question it's being played with. Trope Namer Snidely Whiplash whenever Dudley Do-Right occurs in the segment rotation. Dinner Order Flub : Bullwinkle goes into a coffee shop and looks over the menu. Seeing that refills are free, he tells the waiter "think I'll have some of that there refill." Disability Immunity : You'd be surprised how many times Bullwinkle's lack of intelligence has protected him. The Ditz : Just about everyone, but especially Bullwinkle.

Does Not Know His Own Strength : One of the variants of the "rabbit out of the hat" sketches has Bullwinkle saying, "Don't know my own strength." Bullwinkle also makes this comment after knocking over a cardboard cut-out of a car (which he and Rocky previously thought was real) in "The Treasure of Monte Zoom". Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" : Fearless Leader. His real name is unknown. Evil Versus Evil : Boris and Fearless Leader briefly fought over the Kirward Derby in Missouri Mish Mash. Exact Words : In the Mr. Know-It-All segment "How to Get Your Money Back if Not Completely Satisfied", Bullwinkle tries to return an item he's not satisfied with and get his money back, but in the end the store owner, Boris, won't give him a refund. When Bullwinkle points out the store's promise, Boris says, "And I'm completely satisfied!" In the Fractured Fairy Tale "Snow White Inc.", the Magic Mirror informs the Queen that Snow White is still the fairest in the land, but then adds that the Queen is still the prettiest.

When the Queen asks the mirror to explain himself he answers, "She never lies, cheats or steals. What could be fairer than that?" Expospeak Gag : Often overlapping with Genius Bonus - the show would often use gags that centered around complicated word puns and speech, most notably with Mr. Peabody and the narrator in the main shorts, but would barely ever actually draw attention to these jokes and thus it tended to fall to the audience to understand them. A good example being a scene where the narrator casually calls our heroes' Seinfeldian Conversation "airy persiflage," which is in context is a good way of putting "witty banter" but can also mean "meaningless/redundant mockery." Explosive Cigar : In the story Mucho Loma, Bullwinkle is put in jail after being mistaken for the villain Zero. Rocky gives Bullwinkle a explosive cigar to help him break out. Bullwinkle mistakes it for a real cigar and throws it out the window causing a Rube Goldberg Device that breaks the prison wall. Eye Glasses : Sherman. The Faceless : Mr.

Big, whose shadow was the only thing we saw of him until the second-to-last part of the Upsidaisium story. Fastball Special : Bullwinkle tosses Rocky in the air for a boost of speed. This has often been called the "Alley-Oop". It becomes a plot point in the Wossamotta U story replacing Rocky with a football. Fate Worse Than Death : According to Natasha, being frozen in front of the America flag in a position that makes it look like he's perpetually saluting it is this for Boris. Feghoot / Pungeon Master : Mr. Peabody's segments, always. As well as a few Fractured Fairy Tales. Hartman Hips : Natasha, dahlink. Hat of Power : The Kirward Derby, which vastly increases its wearer's intelligence. The last known wearer was Albert Einstein . Until it was later revealed that it was made by a moon wizard to make the moon prince intelligent and that Gidney and Cloyd lost it after they borrowed it for their trip to Earth.

Heelï¿½Face Door-Slam Heterosexual Life-Partners : Rocky and Bullwinkle, so much so that when he thinks Bullwinkle's dead or otherwise gone forever, Rocky blue-screens . Hoist by His Own Petard : Almost every time Boris, Natasha, and Fearless Leader were defeated were by their own weapons. Most notably was in the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie where they attempted to use a digital Disintegrator Ray to eliminate Rocky and Bullwinkle but ended up getting digitized themselves when Bullwinkle unknowingly messed with the controls. Said word-for-word by the narrator when Boris falls into one of his own traps in The Treasure of Monte Zoom storyline. Hollywood Natives : Stereotypical Indians appear in the story arc, "Bumbling Bros. Circus"; the rain dancers capture Rocky and Bullwinkle and attempt to burn them at the stake to please Great Spirit. However, Bullwinkle's humming comb gives them dance fever, and they literally dance up a storm, putting out the flames.

The circus comes to their rescue, Boris and Natasha escape, and the tribe realize who the real good and bad guys are, naming Rocky and Bullwinkle honorary chiefs of their tribe, and making peace with the circus (complete with a peace pipe). Hurricane of Puns : Even the episode titles are puns and each episode gets two titles . Which, in and of itself, has been invoked by Bullwinkle to get more puns into the episode (and serve as a distraction). Insult Backfire : Boris takes every insult as a compliment. Interacting with Shadow : One of the Aesop and Son segments features interactive shadows. Interactive Narrator : Most infamously when Conrad starts breaking up in laughter over a stupid pun, and our heroes have to announce what the next episode titles are. Invisible Writing : In an early episode Natasha reveals a message that was in invisible ink by holding the paper in front of a candle: "Keel Moose." Boris drops a safe to land on Bullwinkle's head. After the Commercial Break Cliffhanger Natasha says that two more words have appeared: "Do Not." Boris races the safe to save Bullwinkle. Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Mr.

Peabody has a huge ego concerning his smarts and shows no emotion aside from chilly brusque civility. But he does care for Sherman, as seen in the very first segment where he saves him from bullying and instantly decides to adopt him when he sees the state of his orphanage . Know-Nothing Know-It-All : The "Mr. Know-It-All" spot where Bullwinkle would demonstrate some skill for the audience, only to foul it up completely. Lame Pun Reaction : Very common, to the point that just about every Peabody's Improbable Histories segment ends with one. Plenty to go around, but the most unspeakable one had to be when Bullwinkle found a model boat covered in red precious gems and a nameplate that read "Omar Khayyam". Which makes it... drumroll please... The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam . Ugh. They were so many sometimes the character didn't want to do them: Bullwinkle: Uh-oh! What are those things, Rock? (points to a pair of tanks ) Rocky: Tanks , Bullwinkle. ( Beat ) I said tanks, Bullwinkle.

Bullwinkle: Oh, do I have to say it ? Mr Peabody would conclude all of his stories with a ludicrously bad pun based on the historical figure featured. Lampshaded the Obscure Reference : Bullwinkle makes a joke that Rocky gets, but Bullwinkle admits most of the viewers won't. Large Ham : Robert De Niro in The Movie . Late to the Punchline : "Aesop And Son". In one episode, Aesop laughs at a joke he heard days ago and tells his son a fable with the moral "He who laughs last laughs best". Come to think of it, a lot of things in that show were jokes young viewers wouldn't get until later. Or, in many cases, ever. The most famous was probably the Kurward Derby, a long drawn out gag involving this guy and a bunch of really bad jokes that seemed to offend him greatly, so much so that he tried to sue the makers of the show to get them to stop (producer Jay Ward, delighted at the publicity this afforded the show and knowing the law was on the show's side, actually encouraged the suit)... it failed.

Lampshaded from time to time too: Bullwinkle: Twenty dollars?!? That's antihistamine money! Rocky: Antihistamine money? No Celebrities Were Harmed : Boris Badanov's voice and appearance are based on character actor Akim Tamiroff ( The Great McGinty ), while Mr. Big's voice is Bill Scott doing a Peter Lorre impersonation. In the Fractured Fairy Tales segments, witches and queens are often voiced to sound like Marjorie Main, and elves and princes often sound like Phil Silvers. In one version of "Sleeping Beauty", Prince Charming was modeled loosely after Walt Disney . In the story, rather than awaken Sleeping Beauty, he built a theme park around her. No, Except Yes : From the "Mr. Know-it-all" segment "How to Catch a Bee": Bullwinkle: But if you're in Death Valley, the task becomes a little tougher, but not surmountable. No Fourth Wall : Characters frequently exhibit Medium Awareness and other forms of being Genre Savvy . This applies to both the live action films as well: Fearless Leader: There has never been a way to actually kill a cartoon character until now.

Pottsylvanian scientist: What about that movie Roger Rabbit ? Fearless Leader: SHUT UP! This is totally different! Natasha: We have been blown back clear to beginning of movie! (Boris and Natasha) Bullwinkle: In about 364 other episodes. But I don't know who it is, either. And the one time Rocky actually knew where he heard that voice, the effects of the goof gas gets to him right before he could say Boris' name. Opening Shout-Out : In The Weather Lady, Rocky gets a job at the circus as a high platform diver. Bullwinkle lampshades it with this: Bullwinkle: Remember when we used to do this at the title, Rock? Orphanage of Fear : it is strongly suggested in their first episode that Sherman came from one of these. Out of Focus : Rocky could be considered this. Back when the show was still called Rocky and His Friends, the plots were more centered around Bullwinkle. When the show was renamed The Bullwinkle Show, it became apparent that Rocky was demoted to sidekick status . Paper-Thin Disguise : "That voice.

Where have I heard that voice?" While Boris's disguises have a bit more effort (including fake mustaches), Natasha's disguises are not as elaborate. In fact her disguises are rarely more than just a simple change in clothing, and yet Rocky never mentions her face looking familiar. In fact there are even instances where she is not disguised at all alongside Boris wearing a disguise, and never gets recognized by Rocky. At one point, Boris goes through a catalog, revealing that his "normal" appearance is just another disguise. "You didn't think I really looked like this?" In the Mr. Know-It-All segment "How to Get Into the Movies Without Buying a Ticket", one step is to try a disguise. However, Bullwinkle's disguise still gets him kicked out. One "Aesop and Son" segment begins with Aesop wearing a disguise to see if he can fool his son. His son isn't fooled. Rocky: What game can you play with girls? Bullwinkle: This is a kid's show. Why, Parcheesi, of course! Parody Magic Spell : "Eenie-meanie, chilly beanie!

The spirits are about to speak!" Parody Names : The Kirward Derby from the story Missouri Mish Mash is a parody name of Durward Kirby, cohost of the show Candid Camera. Durward tried to sue Jay Ward Productions because of it, but they didn't care. The legality of the case was not strong enough and Durward dropped it. Also, in the first episode, news of an "alien landing" is broadcast by "Dorson Belles" . The "Maybe Dick" arc featured a shipping magnate named Pericles Parnassus, a thinly-veiled parody of Aristotle Onassis. "Boris Badenov" is a play on the name of Russian tsar Boris Gudenov. In "The Last Angry Moose" Boris's aliases included Hollywood mogul D. W. Grifter and director Alfred Hitchhike . Rocky: Again? Punny Name : Boris's disguises inevitably invoked this. A list can be found here Occasionally Natasha would get one as well. Of course her full name (Natasha Fatale) is one in and of itself.

Lampshaded in "Mucho Loma", where Rocky, Bullwinkle, and the local sheriff look over some wanted posters, including one for Juaquin Behindu. Bullwinkle: What's he wanted for? Sheriff: Don't you think a name like this is criminal? Puppet Shows : In one of the network runs the segments were introduced by a Bullwinkle puppet. The puppet suddenly disappeared shortly after Bullwinkle said "Say kids, you know that knob that changes the channel on your tv comes off? Why don't you pull it off right now! Then you'll be sure to be here next week! And the week after that! And the week after that! And the week....." Race Lift : Aesop and Son, possibly. Some sources claim he was either black or middle eastern (if he existed at all). In any case he probably wasn't a redhead. Reassignment Backfire : In the Upsidasium arc, the Maritime Commission tried to have Captain Peachfuzz be literally Reassigned to Antarctica by putting him in charge of counting penguin eggs at the South Pole. But thanks to a typo in his orders, he was made head of America's spy network.

Recognizable by Sound : A running gag is that Rocky would always recognize Boris' voice but still couldn't see through his disguises. Rocky: That voice. Where have I heard that voice? Bullwinkle: In about a hundred other episodes, but I don't know who it is either. Recruiting the Criminal : Rather than sending him to jail, Zero is sent to do a job where his skill at making zero marks is useful. What is this job? Scorekeeper for the New York Mets. Red Eyes, Take Warning : Boris initially had magenta-colored eyes. They turned white in the fifth chapter of Jet Fuel Formula and stayed that way for the rest of the series. The 2000 CVS figure of Boris has deeply red eyes, ether the actual eye color or meant to be sunglasses. Illustrations of Boris throughout The Rocky and Bullwinkle Book gives Boris pink eyes. Red Scare : Boris is specifically called a "spy and no-goodnik". Replaced the Theme Tune : After the first season, the Frank Comstock theme was replaced with one by Fred Steiner. The Steiner version is the one present on the DVD sets.

Retcon : In Missouri Mish Mash, it was said that the Kirward Derby has been around since the Stone Age. It was even in a hat shop for some time when Bullwinkle bought it. But towards the end of the story, it was revealed by Gidney and Cloyd that the Kirward Derby was created by a moon wizard to make their moon prince intelligent and that Gidney and Cloyd lost it after they borrowed it for their trip to Earth. Road Sign Reversal : Seen in one of the intros when Boris reverses a road sign to send Rocky and Bullwinkle's car into a tunnel with a brick wall. Also, this example: Boris: "Have you heard of Russian Roulette ?" Natasha: "Yes..." Boris: "Well, this is Russian Scrabble !" Early in the Upsidasium arc, Natasha uses this trick in order to trick Rocky and Bullwinkle into driving off a cliff. Then Boris comes up with the exact same idea. Hilarity Ensues . Ruritania : Pottsylvania.

Save Our Team : Bullwinkle's throwing arm (and the fact that nobody argues with a moose who wants to make a running play) takes the Wossamotta U football team from dead last to undefeated. Screw This, I'm Outta Here! : After the titular characters of the Boris and Natasha movie literally blow themselves back the beginning of the movie , they decide that they really don't want to go through all the grief that they had to deal with over the course of the film again, so they quit their jobs and retire to Tahiti. Self-Deprecation : Characters in the show constantly made jokes and comments about how much the show stinks. The irony is that the series was very popular. (Boris and Natasha are off to get an "A-bomb") Rocky: Bullwinkle, do you know what "A-Bomb" means? Bullwinkle: Certainly! "A-Bomb" is what some people call our program! Rocky: I don't think that's so funny. Bullwinkle: (Looking at us) Neither do they apparently. This even continued into the movies. Karen Sympathy: Your jokes have gotten really corny.

Bullwinkle: No they haven't, they were always this bad. When you were a kid you didn't notice. Shameless Self-Promoter : Jay Ward himself, to the point of responding to threat of a lawsuit with "go ahead, we could use the publicity." Then there's the whole real life incident of Ward renting a small island on the shores of Minnesota, naming it Moosylvania, and mounting a campaign straight to Washington to grant it statehood, arriving the exact same day as the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Shout-Out : The scene introducing the toon-killing computer weapon to be used against the moose and squirrel claims it's the first and only way to actually kill cartoon characters. Then one of Fearless Leader's men asked, "What about that movie with Roger Rabbit ?" to which Fearless Leader responded, "Shut up! This is completely different!" Another shout out to the Roger Rabbit movie could be said of when the Terrible Trio were blasted by their own weapon into the Internet , much like how the Roger Rabbit Big Bad perished due to his own weapon used against him. In one movie scene Rocky and Bullwinkle are directed to a hospital's J Ward.

When Rocky asks Bullwinkle what "fraught with portent" meant, he merely quips, "I dunno, I heard it on Meet the Press ." Fearless Leader's appearance is based heavily on this World War II-era poster ◊ . Here's this dialogue from Metal-Munching Moon Mice, where Rocky and Bullwinkle see a portrait of Boris dressed as a mechanical moon mouse. Rocky: Now where have I seen that face before? Bullwinkle: Didn't there used to be a club on the TV thatï¿½ Rocky: No, that was somebody else ... Bullwinkle: The ears look familiar is all. Police would frequently talk in the style of Dragnet characters. In the Banana Formula storyline, two such persons were called Ben (Romero) and Joe (Friday). Slapstick Knows No Gender : Played with in the case of Natasha. It was not uncommon for both Boris and Natasha to be injured in some way, but Natasha never got injured on her own, while Boris often did. Sliding Scale of Animation Elaborateness : One of the leading examples how good animated creations do not necessarily always involve technical visual skill.

Namely, this series has terrible animation done by a Mexican studio, but is still a classic with its brilliant writing and voice acting such as with Bill Scott, June Foray , and Paul Frees . Smart Animal, Average Human : Mr. Peabody , the Trope Codifier , is a brilliant time-travelling dog who travels with his loyal pet boy Sherman from the Peabody's Improbable History segments. Something Completely Different : Lampshaded in one episode, when Rocky and Bullwinkle come across a poster of Boris in his Paper-Thin Disguise : Rocky: Don't we know him from some where? Bullwinkle: You mean his voice is familiar? Rocky: No, his face. Bullwinkle: There's a switch! On some rare occasions, such as, "Mucho Loma," or, "Ruby Yacht," Boris and Natasha are actually not the villains of the storyline, let alone even in the story at all. Spanner in the Works : Bullwinkle's main function, to the eternal dismay of Boris and Natasha.

Natasha: (after Bullwinkle inadvertently has foiled another one of Boris' fiendish plans) Boris, I thought you said this plan was foolproof. Boris: Foolproof, yes. Idiotproof, no. Also, when Bullwinkle was kidnapped to replace the Greenpert Oogle bird, his kidnappers took an overly complicated course to throw off all pursuit... except Captain "Wrongway" Peachfuzz . Bullwinkle, again, in the movie. The villains have almost won, the President has been brainwashed, and Bullwinkle is sitting in front of the Mind Control device... and then it turns out that Bullwinkle is so stupid, the brainwashing device has no effect on him. Promptly lampshaded by the narrator. Bullwinkle was also the only one immune from goof gas in "Goof Gas Attack". As Boris says, "Goof gas effects the brain. No brain, no effect!" Species Surname : Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose. Spiritual Successor : To Vaudeville, the golden age of radio and Crusader Rabbit (a show also made by Jay Ward).

Rocky and Bullwinkle has also had its own Spiritual Successors: Bullwinkle was named after a car salesman that both Jay Ward and Bill Scott knew, whose last name was Bullwinkel (not a typo); the salesman, reportedly, had a big nose, a deep voice, and often wore brown suits. Both Rocky and Bullwinkle's middle initials being 'J' comes from Jay Ward and Bill J. Scott. Boris Badenov is named after a titular opera character, Boris Godunov. Unknown Rival : Rocky and Bullwinkle typically see Boris and Natasha only when they're disguised , but even if they weren't, our heroes might not recognize them if they wore giant neon signs saying, "We're the villains from the last 50 episodes, you stupid Moose and Squirrel!!!" During the story arc Bullwinkle's Testimonial Dinner, Rocky and Bullwinkle do recognize the spies. And later are confronted by them. Rocky: Hokey smoke! It's our old nemesis! Also in The Weather Lady, Rocky immediately recognizes Boris when he and Bullwinkle sneak onboard Boris' steamboat.

Unobtainium : Upsidaisium is a fictional, valuable, lighter-than-air metal that drives the central conflict of one arc. Use Your Head : Subverted during the second half of season 2, episode 10. Vague Age : We don't know how old any of the characters are, but it's a curious case, especially regarding Rocky. Jay Ward's initial idea for Rocky was for him to represent the squeaky-clean, all-American Boy Scout type, which is the kind of demeanor that June Foray gave him in her voice acting. At one point during the "Jet Fuel Formula" story arc, Boris glues his and Natasha's disguises onto Rocky and Bullwinkle as they enter Pottsylvania; Rocky eventually has to shave the fake mustache off, to which he remarks, "Gee, I thought it'd be years yet before I started shaving!" Yet, at the beginning of "Lazy Jay Ranch," Rocky actually grounds Bullwinkle for watching too many TV Westerns, which leads us to...

Bullwinkle has a number of Man Child characteristics: among his favorite pastimes include watching cartoons on TV, and reading comic books, the latter of which is a little further emphasized towards the beginning of "Wailing Whale," where he asks Rocky, "If you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what can you believe? It's enough to destroy a young moose's faith!" Returning to the subject of "Lazy Jay Ranch," Bullwinkle develops an obsession with TV Westerns, so much so in fact that he spends a ridiculous amount of time playing cowboy throughout the day. Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey : Boris Badinov and Natasha Fatale often fail against Rocky and Bullwinkle, but their Potsylvanian superiors stay more believable as a threat. Villain Episode : More like villain movie. Boris and Natasha starred in their own movie eight years before Rocky and Bullwinkle did. Vocal Evolution : In the beginning of the show, everyone (including the narrator) spoke in a very low tone. Also, Captain Peachfuzz had a high-pitch squwak-like voice that sounded like a typical cartoon parrot in Jet Fuel Formula.

After that story, his voice was then based on Ed Wynn. Wayback Trip : The Peabody segments are the Trope Namer and possibly the Trope Maker . Weather Saves the Day : In the "Bumbling Bros. Circus," arc, Rocky and Bullwinkle are captured by a tribe of Indians who have them tied to burning stakes; Bullwinkle whips out his hum-a-comb, prompting the Indians to break out into dancing, which conjures up a rain storm, putting out the flames and sparing their lives. Who's on First? : In a Bullwinkle's Corner segment where Bullwinkle and Boris perform Simple Simon, they transition into this over the word "ware". Another variation the show often used was to have Bullwinkle use a wrong word, then be corrected with the right word, which in true Who's on First? fashion would have a double meaning that Bullwinkle would misunderstand. Lampshaded in the movie. Bullwinkle: "Can you believe we used to get paid for this routine?" Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? : For someone called Fearless Leader, it is shown that Pottsylvanian TV is too much for him.

William Telling : The story of William Tell is retold in Sherman and Peabody's segment. In this version, Tell is nearsighted and has broken his glasses, leaving his son fearing for his life as the date approaches. After failed attempts to replace the glasses, Mr. Peabody solves the problem by replacing the apple with another one with a powerful magnet inside, which Tell is able to hit easily. Windbag Politician : In "Goof Gas Attack," Boris and Natasha plot to release the titular gas (which makes all who inhale it idiots) into the US Congress. However, upon arriving there, they conclude that everyone there is an example of this and that there would be no point. Worthless Yellow Rocks In the Jet Fuel Formula arc, while stuck on Bloney Island, Rocky and Bullwinkle are digging for clams (which are the local currency). During their excavations, they uncover some pirate treasure. But it's not clams, so it's tossed aside. In the Upsidasium arc, Bullwinkle digs up some gold. But since it's not upsidasium (which admittedly is more valuable), Rocky tells him to get rid of it.

In the Lazy Jay Ranch arc, the fishing resort of Angel's Cramp is experiencing a bait shortage. The fishers are frustrated while digging for worms because all they uncover are these silly gold nuggets.

Question: In the US animated cartoon series "Rocky and Bullwinkle" what type of animal was Rocky?
Answer: (Flying) Squirrel